Serial Sex Offender Gets 92 Years In Prison

A judge sentenced a California man to 92 years in prison after a jury convicted him of sexually abusing six young girls over a 26-year period, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Martin Ruiz Sanchez, 53, was found guilty in February on three counts of lewd acts upon a child, two counts of child molesting and one count each of continuous sexual abuse, oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger and forcible lewd acts upon a child, KTLA reports.

Prosecutors accused Sanchez of sexually abusing six girls from 1989 to 2015. The girls were all between the ages of 4 and 7 when the crimes took place. During the trial, two additional victims testified that Sanchez had molested them too.

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The investigation into Sanchez began in 2015 after one of his victims notified authorities in San Antonio, Texas. Police arrested him in Stockton, California, in September 2015.

In addition to the 92-year sentence, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Tammy Chung Ryu ordered Sanchez to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

In September 2016, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed a bill that got rid of the state's 10-year statute of limitations on rape and sexual assault charges, according to the New York Daily News.

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A number of Bill Cosby's accusers had lobbied to get the statute revoked after persuading lawmakers in Colorado to double the space of time rape victims have to seek charges from 10 to 20 years.

"It's a tremendous day, I'm just so happy," accuser Beth Ferrier told the New York Daily News after California revoked the 10-year statute of limitations. "We were using social media and calling and emailing to make sure he signed."

Ferrier worked with lawmakers to double the amount of time sexual assault victims have to seek charges.

"I thought I was excited about Colorado, but we didn't get it abolished," she added. "It was great, but this is so much better."

The law, S.B. 813, went into effect this year. In addition to revoking the statute, it abolishes the time limit on older cases that have not yet passed the 10-year cutoff point. However, it does not revive cases that have already expired.

"The passage of this new law means that the courthouse doors will no longer be slammed shut in the face of rape victims," attorney Gloria Allred said in a statement at the time Brown signed the bill. "It puts sexual predators on notice that the passage of time may no longer protect them from serious criminal consequences for their acts of sexual violence."